


New to Mindcrack

by pancake5882



Series: Notsogreatfanfic's Minecraft Youtube fics [3]
Category: MindCrack
Genre: M/M, Originally Posted Elsewhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 10:36:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20993408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pancake5882/pseuds/pancake5882
Summary: Formerly a godlike Creator, Sethbling decides to join the Mindcrack community and live in a real world with real dangers. He didn't expect to fall in love though, especially not with the famous redstone genius Etho.Originally posted in 2013. I did some minor edits for typos and clarification, but no major changes.This story is about Seth and Etho's Youtube personas, not the Youtubers themselves.





	New to Mindcrack

Etho spotted the new Mindcracker finally. The supposed redstone genius was building stone walls and throwing carpets over then, unaware that he was being watched. Etho decided that despite the other's shiny iron armor and weaponry, he wouldn't be much of a threat in battle; any skilled fighter would have noticed the someone approaching by now. That thought comforted him, and he headed over to meet the infamous new redstoner.  
"Welcome to Mindcrack," he said pleasantly.  
The new Mindcracker jumped and spun around, hand going to his side, grasping at empty air for a moment before remembering that his sword was strapped to his back, not at his belt. He drew it quickly. "Who are you?"  
Etho took a few steps back and held his empty hands up. "Whoa, it's okay! I'm not here to cause trouble."  
Lowering his sword so the tip rested on the ground, the new Mindcracker smoothed his mustache with his free hand. "I-Sorry about that. Guess I'm still trying to get used to country life; there are so many monsters to look out for," he laughed nervously. Switching his sword to his left hand, he held out his right, "I'm Seth."  
He took Seth's hand and shook it. "And I'm Etho. Don't worry about it; everybody gets nervous when they first move here. And it's not like I haven't died before."  
"You're the redstone genius they've all been wanting me to meet!" Seth said. His eyes brightened with delight, "You made the Death Games building, right? You'll have to show me how it works sometime, I mean, I have some ideas about how you got the names to randomize and only show up one at a time, but I'd love to see how you actually implemented it. Must have been an interesting build."  
"I'll be sure to show you it sometime." The ninja tried to not be too pleased by the new redstoner's enthusiasm, but he couldn't help himself. People had been impressed by his creations before, but they rarely wanted to spend time learning how he built them. "So where are you from?"  
Seth looked uncomfortable. "Nowhere special. I was a Creator, you know, I spawned with the ability to create things from nothing, and I ended up specializing in redstone stuff. I spent some time working for a custom building team. I decided to give up my power though, and ended up moving here."  
Etho blinked. Not many people he'd heard of were willing to give up any special abilities they had, and being a Creator was an especially valuable one. He recovered quickly, "I'm impressed. Adjusting to UHC must be pretty rough."  
"I practiced a little survival before I joined, which helped a bit. But yeah, it's been a bit scary." He blushed. "But you know that."  
Etho laughed quietly and decided to spend more time with the new redstoner.

~~~

The two quickly became close friends. One or the other would drop by to visit, and many pleasant hours would be spent trying to build ever-more-impressive contraptions, or teaching Seth new battle tactics, or explaining to Etho the many functions of the unobtainable Command Block. At first the Mindcrackers predicted feuds between Etho and his obvious rival, but neither seemed especially interested in besting the other. Gradually the Mindcrackers shifted from predicting feuds, to placing bets on whether the two were falling in love, and when they would publicly admit it if they did.   
The two were returning home through the Nether after a clay-collecting trip in a newly discovered mesa biome. They were pleased with the work they'd gotten done, even though Etho said he would have preferred to use TNT. He thought Guude's orders were overly restrictive and not much fun, although he did understand their reasoning.  
They were talking about Prank Wars, when a ghast's furious shriek pierced the ominous quiet of the Nether. Seth drew his sword quickly, eyes searching for the approaching fireball. Etho grabbed a fire resist potion out of his inventory and hastily splashed them both; losing all the clay they'd just collected would be a terrible loss.  
Seth fended off the first and second fireballs as Etho attempted to snipe the ghast. The third one hit the netherrack bridge at his feet, sending him falling into the lava lake below.  
Etho managed to slay the ghast with a shot from his bow, then stood at the edge of the lake to look at Seth. "You all right?"  
"For now." The new Mindcracker laughed, "My compliments to Ethocorp. The CEO must have high quality standards, because I'm not even feeling the lava yet."  
Etho laughed quietly. "Thank you. Can you get out on your own?"  
"I'll see if I can pillar up," Seth said. He dove out of sight.  
Etho waited.  
Finally Seth reappeared, shaking his head. "It's too deep. I couldn't even find the bottom before I started suffocating. Do you have any sand or gravel?"  
"I'll go get some," the ninja said.   
"Please bring another fire resist too!" Seth called as Etho raced away.

~~~

The lava was beginning to hurt. Seth's well-enchanted armor shielded him from the worst of the pain, but he could easily tell that the potion was wearing off. He tried not to be afraid; a few hours of mining and XP farming would get him tools of similar quality, and he'd been reassured by many a Mindcracker that after the first few deaths, respawning would become less painful.  
But still, he had no desire to cook to death in a lake of lava.  
"You all right down there, Seth?"  
The redstoner looked up and spotted his friend far above. The scars on Etho's face looked ominous in the red glow of the Nether, but his gaze was friendly and comforting as he built a small, sturdy stone platform for himself and started quickly dropping gravel into the lake.   
"I'm okay for now, but it'd be nice if you'd hurry!"  
Etho nodded and built faster. Finally the gravel reached the lake's surface and he leapt down gracefully, reaching down to pull Seth onto the tiny island and spashing them both with a second potion of fire resistance. He then threw a healing potion on Seth, and hurried to make the island larger and add walls. Being knocked back into lava would do neither of them any good.  
"Etho," Seth said.  
The ninja placed the final block and returned his attenting to his friend. His good eye widened in surprise as Seth hugged him tightly, pressing his cheek into Etho's chainmailed shoulder. He hesitated for a few seconds, then hugged Seth back. 

~~~

The sound of someone---probably not zombie---knocking on his door pulled Etho's attention from the pleasant sound of his record player. He stood and moved quietly to the door, looking out the window before allowing his visitor in.  
Seth limped into his living room. He'd taken a fall off his horse on the way over, although he would blame lava burns if anyone asked. "Hey. Etho, I... I really don't know how to say this. I know the rules were different where I came from, and I don't want to make a mistake. But I think I need to tell you anyway."  
"Go ahead," the ninja said, gesturing for Seth to take a seat.  
He sat. "Look, I know some people don't approve... They think it's horrible. And I promise I won't feel awful if you think it is, and I won't expect anything from you and..."  
Whatever the new Mindcracker wanted to say, Etho had a feeling it would take all night. Not that he minded Seth's voice of course, but it had been a long day and he didn't want to have fallen asleep when Seth had finally explained what he was talking about. "It's all right. Just say it," Etho said patiently.  
"I don't think it would be a good idea," Seth's tone, and the way he ducked his head, were apologetic.  
Etho decided it was time to make an educated guess and try to help Seth out. Poor guy seemed pretty nervous, not that Etho could fault him for that. The cultures of those who created things and those who collected them were vastly different; of course he was confused.   
He stood and moved to sit by Seth, then hugged him tightly. "Nobody cares if you like a guy here," he whispered, "It's an all-male community at the moment, so it's bound to happen. And believe me, it does happen. All the time."  
Seth considered this piece of information for a moment, then nodded slightly. "And do you ever fall in love with guys, Etho?"  
"Occasionally. There's one I met recently, actually. Has a nice mustache, a really great laugh, built a spaceship over his home, and he's the only person I know who loves redstone as much as I do."  
Seth's cheeks turned pink. He reached up to rest his fingers on the scarf covering Etho's mouth, waiting for a moment in case the ninja wanted it to remain in place. When Etho didn't pull away, Seth tugged the scarf down.  
It wasn't hard to see why the ninja kept his face covered. The lower left side of his face was heavily scarred, by what, Seth couldn't begin to guess.   
Neither of the redstoners cared.

~~~

Weeks passed. Etho found that his and Seth's relationship didn't change much, although it did result in a lot of overnight stays whenever they built anything together. Pause and Beef weren't entirely happy that Etho had less time for Team Canada, but they understood.  
Life was good.  
Etho was testing his newest horse's abilities, when he spotted Seth galloping his way on a pretty mule. He nudged his horse to a brisk trot to meet him; Seth rarely rode, and therefore must be in a terrible hurry.  
They reined their steeds to a halt and dismounted, Etho placing a fence post quickly so they could be tied. "What's wrong?"   
Seth took a deep breath and blinked rapidly, looking close to tears. "Guude's UHC monument. It turns out it was planned ages ago to be just about where my place is right now. I'll have to find a new spot to build. So I wanted to invite you to help me scope out some new propery, and maybe move my stuff over with me."  
"Well that sucks," Etho said, sympathy in his gaze. He knew how much care Seth had put into his home, and he could begin to imagine what it would be like to lose it all. "Of course I'll help you out. You can stay at my place for now, and store your items there too. That way you won't need to find your new property and build a house so fast."  
Seth looked stunned. Etho found himself wondering if Creators were a bunch of savages. Poor Seth, he always seemed a little confused by generosity and acceptance. "You'd do that for me?" he asked.  
"Of course." Etho smiled behind his scarf and grasped Seth's arm gently, "Come on, let's go home."


End file.
